"Now imagine all my frustration at being the last one to find out, and use that to pull the lever."

I was afraid of episodes like this with Nikita's new standalone format. This wasn't a bad hour per se, in fact it had a lot of wonderful character beats, but it was definitely not indicative of the show's usual brilliance.

I've never been a fan of child actors; more often than not they're irritating and talentless. Thankfully, Annalise Basso did a pretty great job as tortured Liza. She managed to balance the role's physicality and vulnerability in an impressive manner. However, making a kid the star of the hour didn't prove very exciting to watch and greatly diminished the suspense factor that's usually so high on the show.

Putting aside the sad truth that this hour was practically devoid of action and thrills, I enjoyed the dynamic between the gang (as always) and the quieter moments involving Alex and Nikita as they reflected on their own past while dealing with Liza. The final sequence in particular was a masterful example of winning over your audience through the use of a touching song ("Never Let Me Go", which is my favorite of the past year) and a tender moment. Nikki telling Alex she "got the last girl" and allowing her to reunite Liza with her parents so she could mourn her own lost childhood was just gorgeous. Lyndsy Fonseca was outstanding and it really gained a lot of goodwill in an otherwise unmemorable hour.

Bits & Bullets

- Who would have ever thought we'd get to watch Nikki and Alex have a normal day getting a ring re-sized, discussing Nikki as a potential mother, and Michael's last name? This really is a new Nikita.

- The look on Michael's face when Birkhoff referred to him as a "sleeker, broodier model of trainer." Priceless.

- Birkhoff annoying Nikki during the mission over not telling him about her engagement was a fun little touch.

- Love seeing Nikki and Michael being backed by a Division strike team. It never gets old.

11 comments:

Crikey, I'm finding myself liking virtually everything these days, and this was no exception. I thought Annalise Basso was exceptional. I even welled up a bit at the end, something which almost never happens to me watching Nikita. Like you say, Nadim, Alex reuniting Liza with her folks was a lovely show moment. Sometimes we get so caught up in the broader mechanics of the show (taking down the bad guys) that we forget that it's about saving innocents, too. Shame the ratings are still falling :o(

I actually teared up quite a bit at that ending. It was really stunning Paul!

And the ratings keep falling which I don't get as it's one of the strongest shows on television.A real pity it's not paired with Arrow instead of America's Top Model! How pathetic!

Apparently they might get a fourth season because of syndication possibilities but I don't know how much that is possible with the declining ratings. Thankfully Craig Silverstein has said that he has a 3 year plan for the show so I hope if it does end this year, it goes out on top instead of being dragged out for many seasons past its prime.

Sometimes I wish that Nikita would be on a different channel and had only 10-13 episodes so that the focus could really be on the interesting overall story and there wouldn´t be so much stand-alone episodes.

At the moment I miss the plotting and fighting of season 2 and I hope that they can bring some of this back. The dynamic of this season is kind of strange at the moment, the team we love is so decentralized.

Just read that they postpone the episode on the 16th. That is really not a good sign for the series, is it? Especially when they air a bts episode of ANTM. Very very sad...This series deserves better..

Am I the only one that thought the image of a pre-teen girl carrying and shooting a gun was beyond creepy? Additionally, the switch from trained assassin to crying little girl wanting to go home just happened way too quickly and too easily for me.

If the producers keep putting out featherweight (good word, Mikey) episodes like this, it won't be surprising if the ratings keep falling. Shame -- this show is one of the great ones when it's on form.